Companies want more than a sales route optimization tool that’s well-marketed. An effective sales enablement tool makes route optimization easy to implement and provides measurable metrics for success.
The gut feeling of “less time spent on the road” can’t be measured. But with these five metrics, which can be measured with objective numbers, companies that have already purchased these tools can confirm that their choices meet their expectations.
The best part? Most companies already monitor these numbers in some way. This reality makes it easy to integrate confirmations about the effectiveness of optimization without an overhaul of internal software.
The work can even be done manually since automated route planning software clears an enormous time sink from the sales and delivery workflow.
Gasoline prices continue to rise and aren’t expected to go back down soon. Even a gallon of fuel saved goes a long way.
When a vehicle fleet comes in under its fuel budget, it means its routes are more efficient:
Because fuel cost also measures time spent on the road, decreased fuel costs also indicate lower maintenance costs. Decreased maintenance requirements will pay dividends in the long term as the fleet ages, and the cost of newer, more sophisticated vehicles continues to rise.
As fuel becomes harder to find, so do quality employees. Workers cost more and demand greater job satisfaction. Satisfaction and less stress matter more than money to many employees, and nowhere is this more true than among younger workers.
When unoptimized routes send drivers through traffic or rush them more than they can stand, they become unsatisfied, and the odds of resignation increase. More optimal routes are less stressful routes, directly connecting high-quality planning to lowered turnover rates and retention of quality employees.
Customers prefer punctuality. Whether it’s sales agents sent to pitch a deal set to pay dividends for years or drivers delivering a promised product, employees who arrive unstressed and on time paint a better picture for clients.
Some businesses use client satisfaction surveys or similar numerical metrics. Those performance indicators are easy to measure over time, but not every business uses those metrics.
For those businesses, repeat patronage is a clear sign of a job well done. If a client returns, again and again, they clearly trust you to get the job done.
This entry is very similar to number 3 above. Easy to measure and close to the heart of every B2B enterprise, conversion rates represent continued growth and the company’s ability to keep pace with fast-changing markets.
They also indicate that sales agents continue to make great first impressions. In-person sales agents make a better first impression when they arrive on time, unhurried, and unfrazzled by difficult traffic.
New opportunities for training emerge for sales departments free of punctuality concerns. Instead, they can pursue other avenues for improvement.
Even though it’s easy, route optimization isn’t a process that can be performed once and left alone forever. Companies should run their tools often to account for changes in traffic, roadwork, and street-adjacent construction.
Route planning must account for internal changes too. New clients, new products, fleet changes, and more adjust a route’s needs.
When sales enablement tools suggest small tweaks for every regular run, it’s a clear indication the chosen routes have reached maximum efficiency — and that the time might have come to try to expand.
